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Before this age comes to a close, God will have a glorious Church. He will have a people who refuse to live according to the dictates of the flesh and refuse to be dominated by their bodies. He will have a Church that walks in His manifested glory.

The question is, do you and I want to be a part of that Church badly enough to run the race? Do we want it enough to pray and spend time in the Word instead of doing other things we could be doing-even good things? The things we turn down and the things we accept determine the manifestation of the power of God in our lives. God's glory belongs to those who do not live after the flesh and who are no longer dominated by their bodies.

I am one of those who love His appearing. I am believing for the Church to rise up and press in the spirit to get the things done that we need to do. Individuals may fall out but the Church is going to finish the race, and it's going to be on time. I want to be in that group and bring God glory.

You may think, Well, what can I do? What God's called me to do couldn't be that important. That's not true. You can reach people nobody else can reach. You must get your heart and your mouth in line with God's Word if you're going to finish what you're called to do.

Once you've made the decision to finish your race, there's one other element of spiritual aggressiveness to put into motion. Patience.

Hebrews 12:1-2 says,
...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith....
Patience means you don't quit. Sometimes you may not see results for a while. But eventually, if you keep pressing, you'll get there. As Kenneth Hagin says, "God doesn't settle up every Saturday night, but He does settle up."

You run the race with patience and you run it unencumbered. "Let us lay aside every weight and sin ...." Weights and sin are two different things. But both of them have to be removed if we are to keep running. Weights are things that pull you down in the natural realm when you ought to be soaring in the Spirit. So let go of whatever holds you back! Press into the Spirit and run. Sin is revealed by God's Word and the Holy Spirit's conviction. You know when you have sinned. Confess it. Deal with it, so you can run. Lay it aside and get back on track.

As you lay aside weights and sin, resist distractions too. Distraction can come from many directions. One of the most common tactics of the enemy is to trip you up with persecution. Don't let persecution throw you. In 2 Timothy 3:12, Paul wrote, "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."

One day I got kind of concerned thinking about the fact that nobody had been picking on us lately. "Ken are we slipping?" I asked. "Are we not living godly? What is this?"

It wasn't but a few days until we got a letter telling us all the things we did wrong and what heretics we were. I felt better after that.

Persecution is part of the package. Don't let it stop you. Don't let it distract you.

How do you fight distractions like that? Just "continue thou in the things which thou has learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them" (2 Tim. 3:14).

I'll tell you the truth: It won't be the great revelation you haven't received yet that will cause you defeat; it will be failing to do what you already know to do. You won't come out of the hard place when the money shows up at the bank. You'll come out when God's power, anointing and faith show up inside you.

So, whenever you reach a hard place, continue to do what you know and you'll make it through just fine.

Even if you get in trouble by your own thinking, God will honor you if you accept correction: "...whoever heeds correction is honored" (Prov. 13:18, NIV). If you press into His kingdom, if you stretch toward your prize, and remain correctable, He will make sure you keep heading in the right direction.

Do you wonder where your attention is? Watch your life. Watch what motivates you and watch what you're thinking about. Your words will follow your action. So keep watch and don't let divine things lose out.

Don't be dismayed. Don't lose your courage. Do what you're called to do. You have everything it takes to be a winner. You have everything you need to be part of the glorious, victorious end-time army of God. As Kenneth Hagin said in a prophecy God gave him in 1988, "You can be a part of that army if you want to be. Purpose in your heart that you'll not be lazy, that you'll not draw back, hold back or sit down. But purpose in your hearty that you'll rise up and march forward and become on fire."

Become aggressive. Press in. Lay hold of the kingdom of God with every bit of force you can muster. That's the price you pay to win the race. But one thing is certain—the eternal victory you gain will be worth it all.

Excerpt permission granted by
Eagle Mountain International Church, Inc.
aka:  Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Author Biography

Gloria Copeland
Web site: Kenneth Copeland Ministries
 
For the last 50 years Kenneth and Gloria Copeland have been passionately teaching Christians all over the world how to apply the principles of faith found in God's WORD to their lives.
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